Countdown To Endgame: What To Expect From Endgame

“We’re in the Endgame now.”

After a year of waiting, reminiscing, and theorizing, Endgame week is finally here. Yes, folks, we are hours away from what may be the biggest movie event this century (sorry, Star Wars). In the past eleven years and twenty-one films, the MCU has created a movie universe like no other. We’ve come to know and love all these fantastic characters that have been brought to life from their comic book origins. We’ve followed their superhuman feats and bravery, their mistakes, and disappointments. all of which culminated in what, for most of the movie-going world, seemed impossible: the villain winning the biggest prize of all. Now, after coming to terms with the fact that 50% of all living creatures in the universe are no more than dust in the wind, our remaining Avengers are set to right Thanos’s wrong “whatever it takes”, and it’s in that I present to you one wish, one theory, and one question for Avengers: Endgame.

This is where I put the SPOILERS, DUH!!! line.

 

The Avengers gear up for war.

ONE WISH—Loki and Gamora stay dead:

Being the god of mischief, Loki has subverted or cheated death several times during his MCU tenure. Unfortunately, watching Thanos choke the life from him before snapping his neck is the last time we’ll see Loki alive in this particular timeline (with the Disney+ series taking place prior to the events of Infinity War). And while Gamora hasn’t shown to have the 9 lives of Loki, her death was a pivotal moment in Infinity War, both for Thanos, Peter, and the movie’s narrative. The purported time traveling aspects of the film offer a lot of wiggle room in changing the future but resurrecting either of these characters, in my estimation, would take away some of the emotional depth of Infinity War.

 

ONE THEORY — A major character dies when they face Thanos:

Captain America and the Avengers will get pummeled during their first Endgame showdown with Thanos.

From what little we’ve seen of the trailers (and what of that is even in the movie?), it’s almost certain that the Avengers will take the fight to Thanos early on in Endgame in an attempt to wrestle the Infinity stones away from the Mad Titan. And yet, despite their unity, they will fail to defeat him a second time. And like his dispassionate destruction of Vision, I believe Thanos will again kill at least one major Avenger.  It’s a coin flip as to who that may be but to remind us of his power, my money would be on the newcomer to the group, Captain Marvel. Rumors of behind the scenes tension aside, it only makes sense for him to put down the strongest Avenger (according to Kevin Feige, though my money’s still on the one who took the full force of a neutron star in the back as strongest) to make the others retreat with their tail between their legs. Part of this may be my suppositions that the original 6 are safe—at least until the movie’s climax—but, considering there is going to be some wonky timeline manipulations, even one of them may bite the dust.

 

Even if the Avengers come out on top in the end, tears are going to be shed.

ONE QUESTION—What will the consequences be for the Quantum Realm/Time Travel solution?:

The line that best sums of Infinity War and Endgame (the Russos entire MCU quartet, really) is that “the hardest choices require the strongest wills”. Thanos has already proven his resolve to get the job done and now the onus falls to the Avengers. Nothing worthwhile is ever achieved without sacrifice and, in order to defeat Thanos and turn back the clocks, so to speak, the Avengers will be faced with just how much they are willing to sacrifice. In the trailers, their call to arms is “whatever it takes”. To put the universe back on track, just how much will they (and in turn, us fans) lose in the process? Will we even recognize the newly reformed MCU? Will any of our characters get the happy endings they deserve? Will Thanos somehow come around and help the Avengers rewrite his actions?

In truth, I could have written pages and pages regarding what will be the exclamation point on the MCU to date, but instead of throwing out everything running around in my head, I’d like to hear from you. What do you think will happen, what do you want to happen, and what is a burning question you need answered? Leave your thoughts down in the comments as we all await Avengers: Endgame.